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Dec. 13th, 2006 10:45 pmOoo... You know, I think I actually like the new Update Journal layout (if for no other reason than that I no longer need to open another tab to view my icons separately).
We managed to finish taking around our first batch of baked goods tonight... this year I did small loaves of gingerbread and containers of lemon curd again (since it was a big hit last year), but added bags of spiced pecans (really easy to do and can be done on the stovetop) and ran with an idea I got from![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
queenofattolia to dip Trader Joe's Candy Cane Joe-Joe's cookies in chocolate. This is the first time I've ever tried chocolate dipping and it's not nearly as tough as I thought it would be... I used Ghirardelli milk chocolate and melted it in a pyrex liquid measuring cup submersed in a bowl of water heated nearly to boiling. I also picked up some of those tinted meltaway white chocolate thingies and melted them in some squeeze bottles, then spattered the chocolate coated cookies. The original cookie was sinful to begin with... coating it with really good chocolate? Well, let's just say that I'm in a VERY big hurry to get those things out of the house. NOW.
Some questions for anyone on my flist with experience in chocolate dipping: When I was researching it, I found several places that recommended melting a little bit of shortening in with the chocolate... is this a good idea? What effect does it have on the chocolate? Does it make it shinier?
I finally had some time to swing by the post office this morning, so I was able to get my last two international packages sent today, and they should both reach their destinations by Christmas. Yay! I've found, even with sending things domestically, that it's often worthwhile to just send stuff Priority. For example, the packages I sent today cost me about $2 extra a piece to send Global Priority... and they should be there within 7 days... as opposed to 6-7 weeks the other way. Sheesh. And domestic packages are often only around $1 more. Plus, in both cases, the post office provides the packaging!
I still have a huge batch of cards to get in the mail, which I'm hoping to get done by this weekend. I can't believe I haven't gotten them out yet, since I've been gearing up for this since Thanksgiving!
We managed to finish taking around our first batch of baked goods tonight... this year I did small loaves of gingerbread and containers of lemon curd again (since it was a big hit last year), but added bags of spiced pecans (really easy to do and can be done on the stovetop) and ran with an idea I got from
queenofattolia to dip Trader Joe's Candy Cane Joe-Joe's cookies in chocolate. This is the first time I've ever tried chocolate dipping and it's not nearly as tough as I thought it would be... I used Ghirardelli milk chocolate and melted it in a pyrex liquid measuring cup submersed in a bowl of water heated nearly to boiling. I also picked up some of those tinted meltaway white chocolate thingies and melted them in some squeeze bottles, then spattered the chocolate coated cookies. The original cookie was sinful to begin with... coating it with really good chocolate? Well, let's just say that I'm in a VERY big hurry to get those things out of the house. NOW.Some questions for anyone on my flist with experience in chocolate dipping: When I was researching it, I found several places that recommended melting a little bit of shortening in with the chocolate... is this a good idea? What effect does it have on the chocolate? Does it make it shinier?
I finally had some time to swing by the post office this morning, so I was able to get my last two international packages sent today, and they should both reach their destinations by Christmas. Yay! I've found, even with sending things domestically, that it's often worthwhile to just send stuff Priority. For example, the packages I sent today cost me about $2 extra a piece to send Global Priority... and they should be there within 7 days... as opposed to 6-7 weeks the other way. Sheesh. And domestic packages are often only around $1 more. Plus, in both cases, the post office provides the packaging!
I still have a huge batch of cards to get in the mail, which I'm hoping to get done by this weekend. I can't believe I haven't gotten them out yet, since I've been gearing up for this since Thanksgiving!
